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Minutes 11-15-90MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1990 AT 7:00 P. M. PRESENT Vernon Thompson, Chairman Thomas Newton, Vice Chairman Raymond Eney, Secretary Andrew Haynes James Miriana Ben Uleck Henrietta Solomon, Alternate (Voting) Kevin Michael Clair, Alternate (Sitting in Audience) ABSENT Part Tompson (Excused) Alfred Newbold, Building Official Chairman Thompson called the meeting to order at 7:15 P. M. and introduced the Members, Mr. Newbold, and the Recording Secretary. He welcomed Mr. Clair as a new Alternate Member on the Board and recognized the presence in the audience of Don Jaeger, Building Official, and Milt Duff, Chief Plans Review Inspector APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 10, 1990 Secretary Eney moved to approve the minutes as presented. Vice Chairman Newton seconded the motion, and the motion carried 7-0. ANNOUNCEMENTS None. COMMUNICATIONS None. OLD BUSINESS None. NEW BUSINESS CASE 9150 Address: 617 West Industrial Avenue Owner: Gary C. Phillips - 1 - MINUTES - BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 15, 1990 Legal Description: Proposed Use: Requested Variance: Lot 23, Boynton Industrial Park, Addition No. 1 Bus Storage 10,000 square feet is minimum required lot area. The lot area has 7,946 square feet. Therefore, a variance of 2,054 square feet is requested. Chairman Thompson noticed a full Board was present at tonight's meeting. He informed the audience the Board is not based on a majority. Any three votes against the request can deny the request. Chairman Thompson said the Members review the property and then base their decisions on the six criteria, which he read. He pointed out if a request is denied by the Board, the only recourse an appli- cant has is through the Courts, or the applicant can come before the Board again one year later. Secretary Eney read the application and the "Statement of Special Conditions, Hardships or Reasons for Justifying Request for Exception or Variance", dated October 5, 1990, from Gary Phillips, Owner, Tropical Adventure Charters, 350 East Industrial Avenue, Boynton Beach, FL 33426. A Warranty Deed was attached to the Statement, and Mr. Eney said it indicated Mr. Phillips bought the property on August 10, 1985. Gary Phillips, 3313 Fernwood Drive, Boynton Beach, made a correction to what was said. He stated he purchased the above property in 1980. Mr. Phillips said he was running a wrecker service, and he parked his buses at this location. He added that he has been operating out of 680 West Industrial Avenue since 1980. Mr. Phillips has since sold his wrecker service and just parks his buses at 617 West Industrial Avenue. The office is still at 680 West Industrial Avenue. Mr. Phillips informed' Mr. Miriana he is just using this property for parking the buses and changing tires. No major work is done on the buses there. Only minor servicing is done. On his inspection, Mr. Miriana noticed extensive servicing. Mr. Phillips replied he has to change the oil and grease the buses there. It appeared to Mr. Miriana that there was not enough room on the property for all of the buses. He noticed three buses were out on the road, and one was even blocking traffic. Mr. Phillips explained that - 2 - MINUTES - BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 15, 1990 chartered buses are pulled out of the lot and onto the road. One of the three buses Mr. Miriana saw was not his bus. It belongs to a church. Mrs. Solomon asked if the lot was the size it now is in 1980. Mr. Phillips answered affirmatively. Mrs. Solomon inquired whether Mr. Phillips was conducting his business on this size lot. Mr. Phillips confirmed that was correct, and he added he cannot extend the lot because buildings are on each side. He understood the zoning was changed in 1985. This year Mr. Phillips was informed the law was changed. He always carried one license for the wrecker and the buses. He was told he would need two licenses because the office is on one side of the lot, and the parking is on the other side. Further comments were made about the licenses. Mr. Newbold clarified that the property address is 617 West Industrial Avenue. No occupational license was ever given for 617 West Industrial Avenue. This property has always been in the M-1 zone. The zoning was changed in 1975, and Mr. Phillips bought the property in 1980. After elaborating, Mr. Newbold said Mr. Phillips cannot establish a business on that property because the Zoning Ordinance requires that the lot size for any type of busi- ness in the M-1 zone shall be a minimum of 10,000 square feet. He stated the question before the Board was whether Mr. Phillips could use an undersized lot in an M-1 zone. Discussion ensued about the occupational licenses. Chairman Thompson asked if the buses are now being stored at 617 West Industrial Avenue. Mr. Phillips answered it is where the buses are parked. He expounded about his businesses and occupational license. Mr. Phillips told Mrs. Solomon he has been parking buses on the lot at 617 West Industrial Avenue since he purchased the lot. He started the bus service at his Shell Service Station at 1520 South Federal Highway in Boynton Beach. He moved it to 617 West Industrial Avenue and operated a wrecker service and the bus service from there. Mrs. Solomon referred to Mr. Phillips using the lot for nearly ten years, and she questioned whether this was un- usual. When he bought the lot in 1980, Mr. Phillips said he bought it so he could store wrecked cars. He owned Boynton Wrecker and had a City contract. Mr. Phillips operated the wrecker business until he started his bus - 3 - MINUTES - BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 15, 1990 service. He sold the wrecker business in 1985 and main- tained the bus company. Mr. Phillips said he was before the Board tonight because he had applied for a license. Mr. Newbold asked the Members to stay with the issue before them, and he said a multitude of uses can be used in the M-1 zone. He again called attention to the undersized lot and reiterated in order for 'the lot to be utilized, Mr. Phillips must be granted relief. The licenses, etc. were carrying the Members away from the issue. Vice Chairman Newton asked whether the current lot was adequate for Mr. Phillips' needs. Mr. Phillips answered that he only has six coaches, and he felt the lot was ade- quate. If this use had taken place for ten years, Chairman Thompson wondered why someone had not taken note of it. Mr. Newbold replied the Code Enforcement records will speak for themselves, and he alluded to the numerous times Mr. Phillips had been cited for Code violations. Mr. Newbold again reminded the Board that was not the issue. Chairman Thompson noted Mr. Phillips said that for ten years, the property was used for the same thing. Mr. Newbold responded Mr. Phillips was saying that. The City was not saying that. Mr. Newbold stated he could prove the property has not been used that way for ten years. He reminded the Members that Mr. Phillips also told them he (Phillips) never had a license at 617 West Industrial Avenue. Mr. Phillips argued that when he went into the wrecker business, he obtained a license from the City for 617 West Industrial Avenue to operate a wrecker company. He had a CitY contract at the time and stored damaged vehicles on this lot. Mr. Phillips told Chairman Thompson he had the contract from 1980 until 1985. Mr. Newbold apprised the Members that this case was tried by the Code Enforcement Board, and Mr. Phillips was found guilty. Mr. Phillips was trying to rectify that. Chairman Thompson asked three times whether anyone else in the audience wished to speak in favor of the request. There was no response. Chairman Thompson asked if anyone in the audience wished to speak against the granting of the variance. Richard Vomsaal, 813 N. W. 5th Avenue, (one block from where the property is located) complained about the noise and odor from the buses. The severe and continuous odor drifts over to his property in such a degree that it makes him ill. He said the buses are running all of the time. Mr. Vomsaal further complained about buses being parked on the road. He - 4 - MINUTES - BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 15, 1990 did not think this was the right place for the buses and said this type of business should not be located next to a residential area. Raymond Weeks, 602 N. W. 7th Street, has lived at this address for 42 years. He stated Mr. Phillips' property is too small for bus storage. The property is used as a depot. One or two of the buses are stacked in back of his property for one or two hours with the engines running. Mr. Weeks thought the engines were kept running so the buses could be air-conditioned before passengers are picked up. The prop- erty was used as a car salvage lot. Maybe one or two buses were there for maintenance, but it has only been used as a bus depot since 1988. Mr. Weeks commented it has gotten worse. He had never said anything because it is industrial, and he thought it was legal for Mr. Phillips to be there. Mr. Weeks also complained about the buses parking on the street and in back of his house. He felt the real problem was health related, caused by the diesel fuel when the engines are running less than 100 feet from his back yard. Mr. Weeks further felt the buses were a traffic hazard. Buses are parked there after 6:00 P. M. Mr. Weeks stated he cannot continue to live in his house because the odor causes migraine headaches. After answering questions from Mrs. Solomon and expounding, Mr. Weeks submitted a leHter he had written objecting to the requested variance. He reiterated that the lot is not big enough now f.or bus storage. If Mr. Phillips gets a variance, the lot still will not be big enough. Mr. Weeks stated Mr. Phillips has to park the buses someplace besides in the compound, so it is the street. William Stevens' property is two or three lots away from Mr. Phillips' terminal. He verified the comments made by Mr. Weeks about the noise and odor of the buses and complained about the buses parking in the street. Jim Weeks, brother of Raymond Weeks, 602 N. W. 7th Street, stated that even with 10,000 feet, there is no way Mr. Phillips can operate that business. He strongly objected to the fumes. Mr. Weeks alluded to when the prop- erty was used for the storage of cars. He did not think the Board should grant Mr. Phillips a variance. Mr. Weeks did not think it was fair to the residents for Mr. Phillips to park buses on the east side of the road, and he elabor- ated. If Mr. Phillips operated within the compound, - 5 - MINUTES - BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 15, 1990 Mr. Weeks said it might be a different story. He urged the Members not to grant the variance and further commented. Mr. Newbold commented that there may be problems that could not be controlled by the Board, and he explained. Chairman Thompson reminded the Members they should only be concerned about the square footage of the lot. He asked if anyone else wished to speak against granting of the variance. There was no response, and THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS CLOSED. Secretary Eney read into the record the communication dated November 15, 1990, which Raymond E. Weeks, 602 N. W. 7th Street, Boynton Beach, FL. (The letter was a repetition of Mr. Weeks' comments. The original is on file in the Office of the City Clerk.) Chairman Thompson pointed out to the Members that the use of the property was not the issue before them. The issue was 2,054 square feet in order for the lot to meet the required 10,000 square feet. Mr. Newbold explained the use is a permissible use, and he alluded to site plan and environ- mental approval. Chairman Thompson stated the property should never have been used, as there was no license for it. Even if there were 10,000 square feet, it could not be used because there is no license. Chairman Thompson said the use of the property without a license has caused a nuisance to the nearby resi- dents. Mr. Newbold agreed with Chairman Thompson that these things should be taken into consideration. Discussion ensued about a license. Mrs. Solomon understood Mr. Phillips would not get a license unless he meets certain requirements. Chairman Thompson advised if Mr. Phillips had 10,000 square feet, he would not have had to come before the Board. Mr. Miriana understood there was a hardship, but the business was not within the confines of the 7,946 feet, and it was creating a hardship on the neighborhood. If the Board granted the variance, he thought the Members would be overextending it. Secretary Eney did not feel Mr. Phillips' problems with other agencies should concern the Board. He was in favor of grant- ing the variance and letting Mr. Phillips fight the other agencies of the City to comply with the Code. - 6 - MINUTES - BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 15, 1990 Chairman Thompson felt the hardship the business had been creating and the faCt there was no license were negatives. Ho observed the lot was unbelievably small, which he guessed was why so many buses were out on the street. Chairman Thompson stated he would never be in favor of driving anyone out of business, but he noted Mr. Phillips was asking a variance for 1/5th the size of the property. Chairman Thompson did not think the property was designed for what it was being used for. He reiterated this would not be a majority vote. Any three votes against the request would deny the request for a variance. Motion Mr. Miriana moved to deny the request for a variance, seconded by Mr. Newton. Chairman Thompson explained an "Aye" vote would be to deny the request. A "Nay" vote would be in favor of the request. A roll call vote on the motion was taken by the Recording Secretary as follows: Mr. Miriana ~Chairman Thompson Secretary Eney Mr. Haynes Mr. Uleck Mrs. Solomon Vice Chairman Newton Aye Aye Nay Aye Aye Nay Aye Motion carried 5-2. The request was DENIED. OTHER Board Dinner, Holiday Inn, Catalina Center December 10, 1990 at 6:30 P. M. Chairman Thompson reminded the Members to call the City Manager's Office and advise whether they can attend the dinner. AD JOURNMENT Secretary Eney moved, seconded by Mrs. Solomon to adjourn. Motion carried 7-0, and the meeting properly adjourned at -20 P. M. Patricia Ramseyer// Recording Secret~ (Two Tapes) - 7 -